Songs without words, intersemiotic journeys in works by Boulez, Revueltas and Ablinger, and portfolio of original compositions

Thesis

This dissertation investigates how literary texts are translated into instrumental music through the lens of intersemiotic translation, with a particular focus on the compositional process. Centered around four contrasting case studies, the study examines how composers translate verbal (literary) sign systems into non-verbal (musical) codes. Pierre Boulez’s Third Piano Sonata, incorporates stylistic and radical formal elements of Mallarmé’s poetry, such as open form and spatial page design, demonstrating a formal and aesthetic equivalence that resonates with the poem’s innovative structure. Silvestre Revueltas’ Sensemayá achieves a prosodic translation of Guillén’s poem, rendering its rhythm, alliteration, and musicality into a song without words. Peter Ablinger’s A Letter from Schoenberg pursues a linguistic and semantic translation of Schoenberg’s speech, transforming inflection and intonation into experimental sonic textures that evoke the semantic essence of the original utterance. Finally, my composition No oyes ladrar a los perros, echoes Juan Rulfo’s non-linear storytelling and temporal fragmentation, capturing the underpinnings of magic realism.

Drawing on Roman Jakobson’s theory of intersemiotic translation and its development within semiotic and translation studies, this research foregrounds the composer’s creative agency in navigating the aesthetic, structural, and expressive dimensions of literary texts within musical contexts. Grounded in critical analysis and practice-led reflection, the dissertation proposes a shift in how we understand composition as a form of translation, inviting composers to explore the expressive potential of crossing semiotic boundaries.

Authors: Vega Gonzalez, EC

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-o0qbrxqbm
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Juan Rulfo’s No oyes ladrar a los perros; Silvestre Revueltas’ Sensemayá; sign system; Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard; practice-led artistic research; intersemiotic translation; intertextuality; crossing semiotic; music semiotics; music system; Pierre Boulez’s Third Piano Sonata; literary codes; Boulez; Peter Ablinger’s A Letter from Schoenberg; Mallarmé; Revueltas and Ablinger; Music Composition; music linguistics
• Subjects: Composition (Music); Intersemiotics; Linguistics